"The grind never stops."
"We will rest when we are dead."
In the go-go-go world, the idea of rest is mocked.
Frowned upon.
We're told to always keep going, to keep plugging, to keep up.
It's not just e-mails at 11 p.m. anymore; it's the push to "optimize" every part of our lives.
Sleep trackers measure how efficiently we rest.
Meditation apps urge us to "maximize" mindfulness.
There's a productivity tool for every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moment.
Well.
What happens to a field that is constantly cultivated, season after season?
Nutrients become depleted.
Yields fall.
The quality and nutritional value of crops go down.
The field ecosystem is unwell.
Early growers used to move elsewhere after depleting the fields.
But that was not a sustainable way to live or to work, in the long run.
Then, the discovery of the benefits of the fallow period — intentionally leaving a field unplanted for a season — revolutionized farming.
Even now, when left to rest, the soil regenerates its nutrients and becomes more fertile, increasing overall productivity and profits.
Our brains, like the Earth, need fallow periods to thrive.
Just as leaving fields fallow supports healthy, sustainable agriculture, allowing our minds guilt-free rest means healthy, sustainable living.
And neither synthetic fertilizers nor caffeine pills accomplish the same result.
网友评论